To Boldly Go
by Hearts345
Summary: Acacia Casimir was just 12 years old when she resolved to one day leave her Home World forever. She has been away for many years but now that the Enterprise has been called there, how will she cope? -First ever completed Story! I'm super excited about that :-D
1. Report for Duty

**So apparently having 2 stories on the go wasn't enough for my mind... I had to go and start a new one. **

**This one's been kicking around for a while now... Possibly years actually... But I'm not really sure. **

**Anyway, I've actually got this one plotted out and I plan to stick to it as best as I can... **

**Oh! Just some information before we get started. My main character's name is pronounced like this; "Ah-kay-sha Kass-ih-mer". Or at least I think that's how you would write it Phonetically... Never did excel at that**

**I hope you enjoy it... Reviews are welcome as always... No Copyright Infringement is Intended**

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The U.S.S. Enterprise did not resemble anything like what one would expect a flagship to appear. Neither on the inside nor the outside was it any different than the other starships which made up the rest of the Fleet. This was strategically advantageous because only those who were members of the Federation would know it was the flagship.

Despite it being just as plain as the rest of the Fleet, it did not stop thousands of Academy Graduates praying to be assigned duty on the Enterprise. Few actually had their wish granted however.

The most recent of the "Lucky Ones" was Lieutenant Acacia Casimir, a Science Officer.

* * *

"Bridge to Lieutenant Casimir." said Captain Kirk's voice from the intercom.

Acacia looked up from her notebook to the intercom. She pressed the reply button,

"Casimir here," she said. "How may I help you?"

"Please report to the Bridge." said Kirk.

Acacia could have sworn she heard stifled laughter in his voice.

She had barely been aboard the ship for two hours which was just long enough to unpack her belongings and attempt to settle into her new surroundings. Her quarters were fairly large especially for a new officer barely out of the Academy.

The front door opened into a big cozy room that was split between a small living area and a kitchenette. To the right was the door that led to her sizeable bedroom. The room was large enough for a queen-size bed, a dresser, and a work desk. There was a door on the left side of this room that led to her private bathroom.

Upon her arrival Acacia had been surprised to learn this whole room was her's. After having roommates all through her years at the Academy, she had assumed she would have to share. This was a welcome change for her.

As she got up from her chair to make her way to the Bridge, Acacia caught her reflection in the mirror as she passed. She didn't stop to look however as she already knew what she looked like.

She knew the hair that was now braided to keep it manageable was a glittering, golden blonde. The eyes that sparkle out of her pale, heart-shaped face are a vivid green that sometimes appear to glow in the right amount of light. Her pale skin stood out against her blue Science Uniform.

As she walked through the brightly lit hallway toward the Bridge, Acacia was aware that most crew members were staring after her. She knew the reason why. Her skin had a tendency to shimmer like a million tiny diamonds were embedded within it. It would shimmer when even the smallest quantity of light fell on her.

Acacia hoped this wouldn't be too much of a distraction when she would meet Captain Kirk. She had heard of his reputation with women and she wanted no part of it.

The turbolift ride to the Bridge was a short one; it did not give her enough time to prepare for the relative chaos she encountered once she arrived. She stood by the doors for a few minutes so she could observe the room around her.

The Bridge itself was a large semi-circular room with a huge windshield-like window along one wall. The rest was made up of the various research tables and interface panels that both controlled and analyzed information from the different areas of the ship. Toward the center of the room and directly behind the window was the Helmsman's panel that allowed them to control the ship's thrusters and Warp engines.

In the middle of the room was the captain's chair and sitting in it was the most handsome man Acacia had ever seen. From her position by the door she could only see the back of his head but she knew who he was. This was Captain James T. Kirk.

Acacia took a step toward the center of the room and cleared her throat.

"Permission to come aboard?" she asked.

Upon hearing her speak, Kirk turned around in his chair, saw her walking toward him and stood up to greet her.

When he had turned to face her, Acacia had to stifle a small gasp. She had been surprised by his appearance.

The way his light brown almost blonde hair seemed to stand up in every which way amused her. His bright blue eyes that could melt the heart of even the angriest Klingon, were alight with concealed mischief. But it was his pure white smile that had shocked Acacia. She now knew this was a man who was just as much a "trickster" as he was a Captain in charge of his crew.

"Permission granted, Lieutenant Casimir," Kirk said, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Kirk extended his right hand toward her. Acacia shook his hand.

"It it a pleasure to finally be aboard the Enterprise." she said with a smile.

Kirk let go of her hand, "I called you here to give you your assignment. For the remainder of your time aboard, you will serve under Lt. Commander Spock as his assistant."

Acacia raised an eyebrow and nodded her approval.

"Spock?" said Kirk as he turned to his left.

A tall, black haired man wearing a blue science uniform stood up from an interface panel. He walked over to stand next to Kirk and Acacia.

"Meet your assistant." said Kirk to Spock.

Spock gave a slight inclination that he had acknowledged Acacia's presence.

"Captain, I do not believe that is necessary." said Spock.

"Well I'm the Captain and I say it is necessary," said Kirk. "Besides, you read her file too. Graduated top of her class in the Academy! I thought you would appreciate working with someone who was smart like you."

Spock opened his mouth to argue but thought better of it. Though Acacia thought she saw irritation in his deep brown eyes.

Acacia was about to say something to him when they were interrupted. A young woman with dark skin and black hair wearing a red uniform had come over to them. She held a tablet in her hand and was staring at it was though she didn't believe the information it was telling her.

"Captain, we've received a transmission from Starfleet," said Uhura. "It says for us to investigate a violent disturbance in the space surrounding Loreleine."

"Loreleine? But that was always a peaceful planet." said Kirk, bewildered.

"Indeed," said Spock. "Why would the Federation send us there?"

"I think I know why." said Acacia. There was a note of sadness and desperation in her voice.

The two men and Uhura looked at her with confused expressions.

"And that reason would be?" prompted Uhura.

Acacia took a deep breath as though trying to steady herself before answering.

"They want me." she stated simply.

* * *

**There you go... I hope that wasn't too short but it really is only an introduction... The next chapter should be longer or at least I hope it will be... We'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.**


	2. The Truth

**Here's chapter 2! This literally took me about a day and a half to write which actually scares me... But I have been told by a very good friend of mine that it turned out really well, despite the short time it took me to write it.**

**No Copyright Infringement is Intended**

* * *

"Wait, wait," said Kirk. "What do you mean they want you?"

"Um… Could we discuss this in a more private location?" Acacia asked. She looked Kirk in the eyes hoping she could convey some of her anxiety to him.

"Sure." said Kirk. "Sulu, lay in a course to Loreleine."

"Aye Captain." said Sulu as he tapped the buttons on the Helmsman's panel.

"Captain, perhaps the Conference Room would be more ideal." said Spock.

Kirk nodded, "Uhura would you send a message to McCoy telling him to meet us there?"

"Yes sir." said Uhura as she walked back to her seat.

"Follow me," said Kirk. "Sulu, you have the Con."

Kirk led the way off the Bridge and into the hallway. Spock and Acacia walked behind him.

As they walked down the hallway Acacia tried to think of the best way to explain the situation. She didn't have too long to come up with a plan because they arrived at the conference room about two minutes after they left the Bridge.

Upon entering the room they saw that Dr. McCoy was already there waiting for them. He got up from his chair at the table when he saw them.

"Ok Jim, I'm here." said McCoy. "Now why do I have to be?"

Kirk briefed him on the situation. By the time Kirk had finished, it looked like McCoy's eyebrows were trying to move into his dark brown hair.

"Good god man. You realize we could be warping into a trap." said McCoy the southern accent thick in his voice.

"Most likely we are." said Acacia before Kirk could answer him.

"And you," said McCoy. "What makes you think they want you?"

"Because I am one of their own," said Acacia. "I left many years ago and now they want me to return."

The three men stared at her in bewilderment.

"Tell me," she said calmly. "What do you know about the Lorelei?"

"Admittedly, very little." said Spock.

"Exactly," said Acacia. "And that's how they like it."

"What do you mean?" asked Kirk.

"We are a very ancient and secretive species. We like to keep any information we have to ourselves." said Acacia.

"Well that explains everything." said McCoy, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Acacia shot him a 'don't mess with me' glare.

"Wait a minute," said Kirk. "Your file said you were Human. How can you be a Lorelei?"

"I lied on my application to the Academy." said Acacia. "I was trying to protect myself."

"Protect yourself?" said Kirk. "From what?"

Acacia began pacing the room. She looked at each man in turn, trying to decide whether they could handle the truth. After a minute she stopped to take a deep breath.

"It's difficult to explain, really." said Acacia. "But as there are no other options, I will try."

She took another breath before continuing.

"Have you ever heard of Sirens?" she asked.

"The creatures of Human myth that sought to capture sailors with their hypnotising song?" said Spock, one eyebrow raised slightly above the other.

"What do Mythological beings have to do with our current situation?" asked McCoy.

"Those 'Mythological beings', Doctor, are my ancestors." said Acacia matter-of-factly.

The three men looked at each other, swapping confused expressions. Spock and Kirk looked like they were about to say something but it was McCoy, the eternal skeptic, who spoke first.

"You can't be serious," he said. "That's completely insane."

"I assure you Doctor that I am indeed serious. And I am not insane," said Acacia. "Have any of you heard of a particular type of Siren that lived along the Rhine river in the Earth country called Germany?"

Once again the three men before her seemed completely shocked by the information she was throwing at them. She didn't blame them; it was a lot to absorb. She was about to answer her own question when Kirk opened his mouth to speak.

"I vaguely remember learning about that in an Ancient History class," said Kirk. "Weren't they called Lorelei too?"

"Yes and no, Captain." said Acacia. "They were called Lorelei because they were my ancestors. Like I said before, we are an ancient species but we are also high advanced. We had developed interstellar travel and teleporter capabilities many thousands of years ago. Back when Humans were just as busy fighting themselves as they were fighting plague and disease."

"Fascinating," said Spock. "To have that ability so long ago is truly remarkable."

"Wait a minute!" said McCoy. "You can't actually believe what she's saying."

"Yes Doctor," said Spock. "When you remove the Impossible, whatever remains however Improbable, must be the truth."

McCoy just glared at Spock. It was clear he didn't agree with the Vulcan's logic.

Kirk stepped forward, eager to keep his two friends from fighting.

"So if you're descended from those Sirens. That still doesn't explain why you lied on your application." he said, concern slipping into his voice.

"I assure you Captain that if there was any other way, I would not have." said Acacia. "When I left Loreleine, I was afraid for my life. I did everything in my power to conceal my true identity."

"Conceal your identity? Does that mean your name isn't 'Acacia Casimir'?" asked Kirk.

"That is my real name. I probably should have changed it but I couldn't bear to part with it. My parents had agreed with my choice to leave, so keeping my name was my way of staying connected to them." said Acacia. "Most people I met just assumed I was a Human with a strange name."

Kirk suddenly felt sympathy for Acacia. His own childhood was less than perfect and his only escape had been to join Starfleet. He understood her reluctance to give up her connection with her family.

"What were you running from?" asked Kirk.

"My Fiancé." said Acacia.

"Your Fiancé?" said McCoy. "Oh great! She ran out on a wedding, Jim."

"Your one to talk about failed marriages, Bones." said Kirk.

McCoy glared at Kirk but didn't say anything or dispute what had been said.

"It's not what you think Doctor," said Acacia. "I was being manipulated into marrying a man whom I did not love and did not want anything to do with. I was arranged to marry Aaran Vassily by the Loreleine High Council. And since there is no way to break the engagement, I was forced to flee the planet."

"Why was it an arranged marriage?" asked Kirk.

"As I told you I am descended from Sirens. As such I have the same abilities they had for controlling the minds of other sentient beings. My entire species has the ability but it doesn't work on our own people." said Acacia. "We have changed very much since our time on Earth but we have retained that ability for some unknown reason. We have since evolved to appear more like Humans. But we still have some physical quirks. My glittering skin and glowing eyes for one; and my blood runs blue not red."

Acacia took another breath to steady herself.

"My hypnotising power is so strong that at a young age I discovered that I could control other Lorelei. The Council feared that one day I might decide to rise up against them and take over control of the planet. That is why I was chosen to marry Aaran." she said. "He actually has no powers. So the Council thought that by forcing me to marry him it would dilute any powers of my progeny. That way their control would be 'safe'.

"I did not love him and I was certain he planned on using my powers to do the one thing the Council feared. And that once complete, he would kill me so he could rule alone. So that's why I ran away to Earth and to the Federation."

Acacia then sat down on a chair at the conference table. She placed her head in her hands as though she was weakened by the amount of information she had just told them.

Kirk sat down on a chair next to her. He took one of her hands in his.

"Have you told anyone else this?" he asked softly.

Acacia looked up at him. Her bright green eyes found his blue ones. Fighting back tears she opened her mouth to reply,

"Admiral Pike," said Acacia, her voice close to breaking. "He had done research about Loreleine when he was in the Academy and he figured out what I truly was. He agreed to keep my secret so that I would remain safe."

"You have my word that none other than the three of us will learn of what you have just told us." said Kirk.

"Captain," said Spock suddenly. "What Lieutenant Casimir has just told us only explains one aspect of our current mission. We still do not know why a peaceful planet suddenly became violent."

"Most likely they staged that violent outburst to attract the attention of the Federation." said Acacia. "They must have somehow figured out where I went and now they're trying to trick me into coming back to Loreleine."

"Well it seems they have succeeded," said Kirk. He reached for the intercom on the table and pressed a button. "Mr. Sulu, what's our estimated arrival time?"

"Two minutes, Captain." came Sulu's reply through the intercom.

"What's our plan, Jim?" asked McCoy.

"I'm not sure," said Kirk. "We have to follow our orders. I don't like that it could just be a trick but either way, we have to investigate."

"We should return to the Bridge and prepare for our arrival in Loreleine space." said Spock.

Kirk nodded, then got up from his chair and headed toward the door. Spock and McCoy followed shortly behind him; neither looking at the other. Acacia trailed reluctantly behind the three men and through the open door.

* * *

**So what did you think? I actually think this is one of the best chapters I've ever written... But if you think otherwise don't hesitate to tell me... Any criticism, good or bad, will only help me get better as a writer.  
**

**The next chapter will be up as soon as inspiration hits me and as I never know when that will be, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up.**


	3. It's a Trap!

**Here's chapter 3! This one might be a little on the longish/wordy side but it kind of had to be in order to set up the rest of the story... **

**I think I might have figured out when this story is set (I didn't exactly know when I started it)... I'm thinking it is set sometime between both movies but a good deal of time before Into Darkness...**

**No Copyright Infringement is Intended**

* * *

They arrived on the Bridge just as the Enterprise dropped out of Warp above Loreleine. Acacia immediately looked through the view-screen at the planet below them. It surprised her by just how much she had forgotten about her Home Planet.

Despite being thousands of Light-years away from each other, Loreleine resembled Earth in many ways. The main differences being that Loreleine was twice the size of Earth and it had significantly more water. Other differences between the two planets; its oceans were smaller and there were more areas of inhabitable land. Loreleine also had two moons rather than one.

"Sulu maintain standard orbit," said Kirk. "Chekov, run a scan of the planet. See if you can find where the disturbance came from."

"Aye Captain," said Chekov as he tapped away at his panel.

"Captain, I highly doubt that we will be able to find anything." said Spock.

"I know that," said Kirk. "I just thought it would be worth a shot."

Spock raised an eyebrow and his mouth twitched slightly as though he was fighting back a comment about the Captain's mental capabilities.

Acacia shot him an amused look before walking over to Chekov's station. She was just as curious as everyone else as to the reason they came to Loreleine, though perhaps she was a bit more so. She was quite fascinated by the images on the touch-screen Chekov was manipulating.

She watched as he essentially set up a 3-D model of the planet and began to run diagnostic tests to fabricate the circumstances of what had occurred. It was when he zoomed in on a tiny area of space that she noticed something strange.

"Mr. Chekov, what are those small bits of metal floating there?" she asked as she pointed at the screen.

"I have no idea," said Chekov. "I'll check."

He then tapped some more buttons and a diagnostic description popped up in the screen.

Acacia stared at the information; afraid to believe her eyes.

"Uh… Captain?" said Chekov. "You're going to want to see this."

Kirk got up from his chair, walked over to Chekov, and read the information on the screen.

"They blew up one of their own ships?" Kirk asked, amazed.

"It would appear that way." said Chekov.

"Any casualties?" asked Kirk.

"No Sir. We are lucky for that," said Chekov. "The debris is from a small, fully automated vessel used primarily for exploration."

"But still, why would they do that?" said Kirk.

"Desperation, perhaps?" said Acacia. "Whoever had the idea to pull this off had to be incredibly desperate."

"Fascinating," said Spock. "Chekov, can you locate the origin of the weapon that destroyed the ship?"

Chekov tapped away at the panel again. He retro-engineered the circumstances based on the computer's scans.

"There is a decayed ion trail from a laser blast that would suggest the weapon originated from this location." said Chekov.

He enlarged a piece of the image. Inside the picture they could see ion particles floating over a large city. The closer to the city the image went; the denser the ion particles became.

"That's the capital of the whole planet." said Acacia suddenly.

Immediately she was aware that the room had grown quiet and everyone was watching her. She shifted her weight slightly from foot to foot; uncomfortable with the attention.

"How do you know that?" asked Sulu.

Kirk looked at Acacia; his eyes wide as dinner plates. He could not believe she would let something like that slip.

"I did research about Loreleine during my first year at the Academy." Acacia lied. She hoped they believed her and that there was no trace of the lie on her face.

"Oh ok," said Sulu. "But why would they blow up one of their own ships?"

"To understand that, we will have to beam down to the surface." said Spock.

"Exactly," said Kirk. "Spock, walk with me. You too Lieutenant Casimir."

Just as they were about to step through the door Kirk called over his shoulder, "Sulu you have the Con."

"Captain, do you think that is wise?" asked Spock once the door closed behind them.

"His track record may not be the best but I figured why not give him a second chance?" said Kirk.

"It is not something I would have done." said Spock.

"I am aware of that, but it's my job as Captain to make those decisions." said Kirk. "It is also Human Nature."

Acacia tried hard not to laugh at this conversation. The friendly banter between both men was amusing to her for a reason she couldn't quite explain.

During her time at the Academy she had more or less kept to herself so her experiences with other people had been rare. She did not have very good social skills so she often observed the interactions of those people around her.

As they continued to walk down the hallway she couldn't help but wonder where they were going. It wasn't until they reached a turbolift that she decided to voice her thoughts.

"Captain, may I ask where we are going?" she asked. She followed Kirk and Spock into the turbolift.

"The Transporter room." said Kirk. "We are beaming down to the surface."

"We? As in you and Mr. Spock?" she asked.

"No 'we' as in the three of us." said Kirk.

Acacia blanched, "I cannot do that."

"I too agree," said Spock. "Based on the information the lieutenant had given us, it would be illogical for her to return to the planet."

"But we will be 'sitting ducks' without her." said Kirk. "Her knowledge of the planet would give us an advantage."

"That is true." said Spock. "Though I wonder if it would be worth risking her safety."

"And even if I were to go, I cannot guarantee that I will be of much help." said Acacia.

Kirk pressed the button to stop the turbolift. "If you come I promise to do everything in my power to protect you."

Acacia was going to argue but she made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Her thoughts were lost to her as she looked deeply into his bright blue eyes. Unconsciously, she reached for his face. She intended to touch it but pulled back at the last second.

She looked away from his eyes and regained some of her composure.

"I fear my very presence will greatly increase the danger of this mission." said Acacia.

"If you don't come they could very well use us as bait to force you to return." said Kirk.

Once again Acacia was left with very little option but to agree. She nodded her head rather than voice her opinion.

The turbolift fell silent as Kirk reached for the power button to get it going again. The three of them did not speak to each other until after they finally arrived at the Transporter room.

"Three to beam down to the planet." said Kirk to the technician.

"Any particular location?" asked the technician.

"We want to be just inside the walls of the capital city but not anywhere that we will be visible right away." said Acacia.

She pointed to a small alley behind a large building. The rear of the building was right next to the city's surrounding walls and there was enough space for them to beam down.

"That would be ideal." she said. "Captain, a word?"

She and Kirk walked to the other side of the room.

"Our hypnotising power works in two ways," she said. "Through eye-contact and speech. It will be a high-pitched layer on their voice that you will not be able to hear. But the main thing is; do not make eye-contact with anyone other than Spock. If you don't they cannot control you."

"Won't they still be able to control us?" asked Kirk.

"No Sir. They might tell you to jump out a window and while the idea may sound appealing to you. As long as you don't look them in the eye, you will still be able to make your own decisions." said Acacia.

"What about Spock?" asked Kirk.

"As far as I know the power does not work on Vulcans because they are not governed by their emotions as much as Humans." said Acacia. "My power might work on them, but as I haven't seen fit to try, I do not know. But remember if the Lorelei get you once, they will have you forever."

Kirk nodded and on that macabre note they grabbed their gear; a phaser and communicator for each of them. Spock also took a tricorder because he was head Science officer. Next the three of them stepped onto the transporter pad.

"Ready?" said Kirk. "Energize."

Acacia held her breath, she was not fond of transporter rides.

Most people are fascinated by the Transporter but wrongly assumed it was a pleasant ride. It really wasn't.

The way the Transporter worked was to scan a person's body, destroy that image on the transporter pad and recreate the person in the desired location. The process worked in reverse to bring someone up from a planet and onto the pad. It is not a fool-proof procedure however.

There have been some accidents in the past, though they have not been too serious. Despite this, the mechanics of transporting have remained relatively unchanged since the technology was first discovered.

It was a quick trip and only took a few minutes for them to fully materialize on the surface.

When Acacia became aware that they had made it she released her breath. She surveyed their surroundings.

She had been correct to assume this would be the best place to beam down. The only thing besides them was a large dumpster full of rotting garbage. Judging by the smell coming from the building she guessed they were behind a food packaging factory.

"Kirk to Enterprise," said Kirk into his communicator. "We have arrived on the surface. We will maintain radio silence unless we get into trouble."

"Loud and clear, Captain." said Uhura. "I will monitor your frequency."

"Kirk out." said Kirk as he closed the communicator. "Now what?"

I believe we should locate the laser cannon and the person responsible for the attack." said Spock.

Kirk nodded, "Lead the way Lieutenant."

Acacia walked slowly to the edge of the building; aware that Kirk and Spock were following close behind her. She poked her head around the corner to see if the coast was clear. There was no one down the alleyway toward the main street.

"I should warn you that most of the people we will meet might treat us badly," said Acacia. "Even though Loreleine is a Federation planet its inhabitants have a deeply rooted animosity toward members of Starfleet. So I would suggest we set our phasers to stun."

"Understood." said Spock, he clicked the button.

"Alright, but I have a question," said Kirk as he pressed the button. "Why would you join Starfleet if your people don't like them?"

"I was trying to hide," said Acacia. "I went to the one place that I thought they wouldn't look. But apparently I was wrong."

They reached the main street a second later.

Carefully, they merged into the group of people walking on the sidewalk. Just as Acacia had told them, as soon as the people realized they were Starfleet officers, they were given a wide berth. It was a little unsettling to watch the expressions of those they passed quickly change into glares of disgust.

"How much farther?" asked Kirk in a muted tone.

"Sensors indicate the laser blast originated 20 yards to the east of our current position." said Spock. He was reading the information given to him by his tricorder.

"That's the capital building." said Acacia in amazement.

They quickened their pace but were careful not to run anyone over. As eager as they were to complete their mission, they did not want to cause a disturbance amongst the people. It didn't take too long for them to reach the capital building.

Acacia informed them that the laser cannon was located to the back of the building.

"We'll have to go quickly and quietly." she said.

She led the way with Kirk and Spock close behind her; phasers held aloft in case they were intercepted.

When they rounded the final corner, they saw the laser cannon. It looked like a large half-sphere sitting upon the ground. Out of the centre and towering above them was a tall metal tube which had to be the weapon's barrel.

"How can we determine who fired this thing?" asked Kirk as he came to stand next to Acacia.

"A weapon of this size and magnitude would require someone to sign in to use it." said Acacia. "We are a peaceful people, so issuing access codes is the best way to restrict access to a weapon like this."

"Will you be able to see who last used it?" asked Kirk.

"I should be able to. Just give me a few minutes to activate the computer." said Acacia.

She began tapping at the buttons; Spock and Kirk stood behind her to 'cover her'. After a few minutes of searching she found what she was looking for. She didn't like what the computer was telling her.

"Uh… Captain?" said Acacia as she backed away from the computer panel. "I know who fired the weapon."

"Who?" asked Kirk and Spock in unison.

Acacia was about to answer when she was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a man with long auburn hair.

"Yes my dear, tell your friends who did the deed." said the man, his cold blue eyes sparkling in the half-light.

"Aaran." said Acacia as she raised her phaser. There was nothing but contempt in her voice.

"It is so lovely to see you again" said Aaran, a cruel smile twisting his lips.

* * *

**The end... Or at least of this chapter anyway... The next chapter has kinda been started but most of it is still in the "idea phase" I will upload it as soon as I get it completed...**

**I realized after uploading the second chapter that I had made some minor mistakes... And I hope that I didn't make the same ones this time... If you find any please feel free to tell me, that way I will know to watch out for them in future chapters...**

**Thanks again for reading!**


	4. To Be or not To Be

**Just want to say that I hope the last chapter wasn't too long and that it was fairly entertaining... But here's chapter 4 which has nearly the same amount of words as the last chapter... I want to apologize for that...**

**These chapters had to be long otherwise important aspects would be missing from the over-all story line...**

**As always No Copyright Infringement is Intended**

* * *

The capital city of Loreleine was very modern in appearance. Each building was created to both stand out and blend into the city. The city as a whole was actually many centuries old. Over the years it had undergone countless renovations and construction enterprises. So much so that the only original parts of the city were the surrounding walls and the jail.

The jail itself was really quite the marvel of engineering. Most of the structure had been built into the rock which supported the city. The only part of the jail that was above ground was the entry/exit door. All three-thousand holding cells, meeting rooms and pathways had been carved into the rock so that the city above it could be built larger.

It was inside one of these cells that Acacia, Kirk and Spock had been placed after they were captured by Aaran. The cell itself might have been 10 feet by 10 feet but that would probably be overestimating its size. There wasn't much in the cell, just a flat-iron bed sticking out from the wall.

Acacia sat on the edge of the bed, slightly in shock. She would have preferred to sit with her legs pulled up close to her chest but her uniform made that idea ill-advised in the current company. Though, the current company might be too busy to notice.

As it was her present company, Kirk and Spock, were arguing about how to best handle the recent crisis.

"Spock, we need to find a way out of here." said Kirk.

"Yes Captain, but as our communicators have been rendered inoperable by this cell. I fail to see how we can contact the ship to beam us out or send us help." said Spock.

"Then we bust our way out." said Kirk. "We still have our phasers. Maybe we can blow open the door."

"That would be ill-advised. You see this Captain?" said Spock as he placed a hand on the cell door. "This is transparent aluminum. Our phasers will do little or no damage to the door."

Kirk threaded his hands through his hair, "But Spock, there has to be a way to escape."

"I am sorry Captain, but I fail to see one." said Spock.

To keep himself from screaming, Kirk walked to the other side of the room and laid his head against the cool stone wall. He stood there with his eyes closed; trying to calm his racing thoughts.

"Captain? I think I might know a way out." said Acacia suddenly.

Kirk turned toward her, "What?"

Acacia was about to answer him when she heard the sound of heavy footfalls echoing down the hall outside the cell door. The sound got slightly quieter as it got closer, until it stopped entirely.

Standing outside the cell were three Lorelei men.

Two of these men were over six feet tall had short brown hair and were wearing identical uniforms. Their uniforms consisted of heavy looking black jackets paired with black pants and combat boots.

Kirk had no idea what expressions were on the men's faces as he was afraid to look at them. He remembered what Acacia had told him about the Lorelei. He doubted the men would attempt to use their powers on him, but he still didn't want to risk it.

Kirk turned away from the men to look at the third man. He already knew who this man was.

The third man was Aaran Vassily.

Aaran was wearing a long flowing robe of deepest purple. Gold embroidery snaked its way down the sleeves and from the collar to the hemline. The robe was long and fell to just above the floor. When Aaran walked the robe would sway enough that his feet were visible. On his feet he wore glossy black shoes that looked to be very expensive.

It was clear that Aaran was an influential member of society and he intended to flaunt it to everyone he met.

Aaran stood just before the cell door and stared at them. It was hard to read the expression on his face but he looked rather pensive.

"What do you want?" asked Kirk.

"I am here to see my betrothed," said Aaran. "We have a wedding to plan."

"Are you insane?" asked Acacia, her voice sharp as a knife. "I'm not going to marry you. I ran away for that very reason."

"But now that you have returned, we have so much to do." said Aaran.

"I didn't return willingly," said Acacia. "We came to investigate the violent outburst that you caused."

"I know." said Aaran. A cruel smile once again graced his face.

Acacia stared him in the face. She could tell he wasn't telling her the whole truth. His blue eyes were shifting between her and Kirk.

Kirk seemed to notice this too, so he stepped a little closer to the cell door.

"What is the real reason you brought us here?" asked Kirk. "If you only wanted Acacia, why take Spock and me too?"

"A fine deduction, Captain. Your species isn't as hopeless as I thought." said Aaran. "I do intend to marry Acacia but I sense she will need some convincing. And that's where you come in."

Aaran paced outside the cell door. After a minute he stopped and faced Acacia again.

"There is no option but to marry me." said Aaran. "If you continue to refuse, I will have to force you. Perhaps the suffering of your crew members will change your mind?"

"I'm not afraid of you. I never have been." said Acacia as she got up from the bed. "The only thing I feared was to be locked in a cage and have my freedom revoked."

Aaran walked closer still to the cell door. His blue eyes not moving from her green ones.

"Such beauty… Such power," he said. "Pity it was wasted on one so kind-hearted. What I would have done with a power such as your's…"

"I know what you would have done. It is not that hard to guess." said Acacia. "But as you have no power, so there is no reason for me to fear you."

"That is where you're wrong," said Aaran, he shot her another cold smile.

"What do you mean?" asked Acacia.

"There have been remarkable improvements in our biological sciences in the eight years since you left." said Aaran. "I have been given a power."

"You lie," said Acacia. "That's impossible."

"Impossible? Perhaps… Though maybe my choice of words was wrong." said Aaran. "The day you left, I began running tests on the DNA in my own blood. Though trial and error I was able to discover that what the Council had assumed was wrong. I was not powerless. My power was, in fact, dormant."

Acacia was silent; she had no answer to that.

"For many years I attempted to activate the gene. And many times I failed," said Aaran. "But about five years ago I finally had a breakthrough. I was able to turn on the gene and finally release my power."

"And what power would that be?" asked Acacia.

"This." said Aaran. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, something was different.

During his whole rant he had only looked her directly in the eyes once. It was as though he was afraid to do so. Now it was different.

His eyes were no longer blue; instead they were a brightly lit mix of red, orange and yellow. Try as she might Acacia could not look away.

All of a sudden waves of pure agonizing pain washed over her as though she was bathing inside a volcano. She tried to scream out but the sound was lost in her throat.

Suddenly an all consuming darkness crept over her; without warning everything before her eyes went black.

The next thing she knew, she was huddled on the floor in the fetal position. Captain Kirk was kneeling next to her and had a concerned expression on his face. She stared at him for a while before she realized that he was speaking to her.

"Acacia! Are you alright?" said Kirk.

His voice sounded far away and had an echo to it as though he was shouting down a tunnel. It took her a while to figure out what he had said.

"I believe so," said Acacia. She attempted to sit up but her muscles were stiff and painful. She winced as she finally managed to get her head off the floor.

"What did he do to you?" asked Kirk. "Here, let me help you."

Kirk grasped her hand in an attempt to help her up from the floor. Slowly he was able to get her back on the bed. He sat next to her and wrapped his right arm around her shoulder as though to comfort her.

"I don't know," said Acacia. "All I know is in that second he looked at me; my whole body was engulfed in the worst pain I've ever experienced."

"That would explain why you collapsed to the floor." said Kirk.

"How long was I out?" she asked. Just then she noticed that Kirk was moving his thumb in small circles over her shoulder. This motion calmed her slightly as she leaned her head on his chest.

"Captain?" she asked again.

"Call me 'Jim'," said Kirk.

"Ok… Jim," said Acacia. "How long was I out?"

"Approximately 20 minutes." said Spock suddenly from the other side of the room.

Acacia's head snapped up from Kirk's chest as she looked at Spock.

"It felt like so much longer to me." said Acacia. "Is he still by the door?"

"No, he left immediately after you collapsed." said Spock. "He said that he would send more security guards in a half hour."

"He said they would either take you up to the wedding you ran out on," said Kirk. "Or they would take the two of us away and torture us to force you to go through with the wedding."

"Then he has truly lost touch with reality," said Acacia. "Or the very least his mind."

"What do you mean, Lieutenant?" asked Spock a quizzical expression on his face.

"He forgets who I am." said Acacia.

She got up from the bed and walked to the door. Her steps were shaky and uncertain because her muscles were still sore. She looked down the hall, she couldn't see anyone coming yet but she knew it wouldn't be long before the guards came.

"What do you mean?" asked Kirk confused.

"I mean I know a way out of here. I would rather not have to do this but there are no other options." said Acacia. "When the guards arrive I will use my power on them."

Kirk and Spock looked at each other; swapping surprised expressions. Kirk stood up and turned toward Acacia.

"I thought the whole reason you left was because you didn't want to use that power?" he asked.

"Precisely," said Spock. "Would it not make sense to pursue another course of action?"

"It was the reason I fled but I fail to see any other options," said Acacia. "If I have learned one thing from this, it's that I cannot continue to run from my problems. I have to face them directly or they will continue to haunt me."

Both men stared at her, almost as though they were struggling with what they should say.

Suddenly they again heard the sound of the approaching guards echo down the hallway. After a few minutes, the same pair of security guards appeared in front of the cell door. Without speaking they opened the door and walked through.

They approached Acacia with their hands outstretched; intending to place hand-cuffs on her wrists so they could lead her out of the jail.

"Plug your ears." said Acacia to Spock and Kirk.

The guards looked at her with puzzled expressions on their faces. One of them was about to say something to her when she opened her mouth,

"You will surrender to me. There is nothing you can to do to deny this fact." she said, her voice had a melodic quality to it almost as if she were singing. "I have complete control over you. Drop your weapons and stand at the back of the cell."

When she had spoken it looked for a moment like her power would not work. But then the guards' eyes had sort of glazed over and their faces became expressionless. They both set their weapons on the floor and walked to the back of the cell.

Their movements were odd; like they were walking through water. Both guards remained at the back of the cell, staring at the stone wall.

"I really hate doing that." said Acacia, her voice back to normal. "You can remove your fingers from your ears now."

"Fascinating," said Spock.

"What is so fascinating about that?" asked Acacia, angrily. "Those men now have no control over themselves. They are completely at the mercy of the next person who speaks to them. Would that not bother you too?"

Spock did not answer her; instead he fell silent as he thought about what she had just said.

"Can we get going now?" asked Kirk. He picked up the guards' weapons, walked through the open door and threw the weapons down the hall to his right.

Acacia and Spock followed him out the door. She closed the door behind them so that if the mind control were to wear off, the guards would not be able to get out.

"Do either of you remember the path we took when we were brought down here?" she asked.

Without speaking Spock started to walk up the hall to the left of the cell. Kirk and Acacia followed behind him; they held their phasers aloft in case they came across more security crews.

The hallway was long and twisty with many cells opening up into it. It didn't take too much time before they came to a 'fork in the road' but without pausing to look both ways, Spock turned to the right and continued down the next hallway. The three of them maintained a quick pace as they traveled through the rest of the jail. Barely 10 minutes had passed before they reached the door to the surface.

"Once we pass through that door our communications should be re-established," said Acacia. "Then we can contact the Enterprise to beam us out."

"I'll go through first seeing as I'm the captain." said Kirk. "We go through quickly and hope that we are not spotted."

"Agreed," said Spock.

Kirk led the way followed by Spock and Acacia. As soon as they were out the door and a considerable distance away, Kirk flipped open his communicator.

"Kirk to Enterprise! Can you hear us?" he asked.

"Captain, what happened?" came Uhura's voice through the communicator. "We lost your signal for a while."

"I'll explain when we're back on the ship. Now beam us up." said Kirk.

A second later the three of them were surrounded by the bright light of the Transporter beam. Acacia again held her breath but this time she also closed her eyes.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and released her breath but what she saw before her was not the Transporter Room of the Enterprise.

She was still on the surface of Loreleine only now she was surrounded by more than twenty security guards. Each of them had their weapon trained on her. The two directly in front of her parted to let another man walk toward her.

To her utter surprise it was Aaran.

"Now, you didn't think it would be that easy did you?" he asked.

* * *

**What did you guys think? Was there anything that you found confusing or that I didn't explain properly? If there was, I give you my apologies... **

**When I write I can actually "see" what's going on in my head but I have trouble transcribing that "scene" into words sometimes... So there might be missing information or descriptions that I "saw" in my head but couldn't think of a way to put it down on paper**

**I have no idea when the next chapter will be uploaded... I do know that it's gonna be hard to write mainly because of how I've ended this chapter... But I will keep at it and hopefully it won't take too long to write...**

**Until next time lol :)**


	5. Choices Choices

**How was the last chapter? Hopefully it wasn't too long... But I do realize that it might have been... This next chapter is, for lack of a better word, strange**

**That's because I had originally meant it to contain the last half of Chapter 4 but I guess that once I got going, I just couldn't stop... So this next chapter had to be shorter than the last one or the last chapter would end up losing valuable parts...**

**But I hope you enjoy this one! No Copyright Infringement is Intended**

* * *

When Kirk materialized in the Transporter Room of the enterprise, he was suddenly filled with a feeling that something was wrong. He looked to his right and was relieved to see Spock had made it back with him. He still felt like something was not quite right. He looked to his left expecting to see Acacia but the pad was empty.

In the second that it took him to realize that, he started to panic. What had happened? And why hadn't she returned to the ship?

The door opened and in walked McCoy followed by Uhura and Scotty.

"Jim! Thank God!" said McCoy. "What happened?"

Kirk deflected the question, "Why wasn't Acacia beamed up with us?"

"Captain, I don't know how it was done but I can tell you what was done." said Scotty. He brought up some information on the transporter computer screen.

"You see that?" asked Scotty, he pointed at the screen.

Displayed on the screen were three squares, each representing the last people to be transported. Two of the squares indicated the signal was locked onto them. The third square didn't look any different than the others except that the computer had not locked onto its signal properly.

"What does that mean?" asked Kirk.

"It means that someone was jamming our transporter." said Scotty solemnly.

"But if it was jammed… How come Spock and I made it back to the ship?" said Kirk.

"That I can't explain," said Scotty. "I would guess that whoever was responsible had found a way to block only her signal."

"How would that even be possible?" mused Kirk out loud.

"Highly advanced technology," said Spock. "Far more advance than we have at our disposal."

Kirk began pacing the room; partly for something to do and partly to avoid McCoy and his tricorder.

"Bridge to Transporter Room." said Sulu's voice through the intercom.

Kirk pressed the reply button, "Yes Mr. Sulu?"

"Captain, we've got something strange on the screens." said Sulu. "You should see this."

"Be there as soon as I can." said Kirk as he pressed the off button.

With a glance at the people around him, Kirk walked through the door into the hall. A few seconds later he became aware that he was being followed by McCoy, Scotty, Uhura and Spock.

The trip to the Bridge was an infuriatingly long one but when he finally arrived, all Kirk could do was gape at the view-screen. Displayed on the view-screen was Acacia.

She was being held by two burly looking guards and they were surrounded by at least twenty more guards. She and the guards were facing toward a long row of Judge's benches.

Sitting behind these benches were twelve men and women. Each of them was wearing white robes with blue embroidered accents. They all had glowing green or blue eyes but because they looked to be considerably older than Acacia, the glow of their eyes was not as bright as her's was.

Kirk guessed these were the members of the Loreleine High Council.

"Sulu, how are we able to see this?" asked Spock.

"Someone started broadcasting this video to us a few minutes ago." said Sulu.

"Can you tell who it is?" asked Kirk staring at the screen in disbelief.

"No," said Sulu. "I'm sorry Captain."

"What the hell is going on down there?" asked Kirk.

* * *

Meanwhile on the surface, Acacia was trying very hard not to panic. She had been brought before the Council when her transportation back to the ship had failed. She had been stripped of her phaser and communicator, and her hands were cuffed together. There was no escape.

Acacia stood before the Council members; her face expressionless. All but two of the Council members were staring at her with nothing but contempt in their eyes. The eyes of the other two were blank but their faces were full of worry.

She understood why. They were her parents, Virgil and Vita Casimir.

She hadn't seen them since the day she left but she had never forgotten their faces.

Acacia resembled her parents in many ways but if she did not have green eyes, most people would say that she looked exactly like her mother. As it was, Vita had blue eyes which were actually more common among the Lorelei. Acacia's green eyes had come from her father, Virgil, as had her confident spirit.

Acacia forced herself to look away from her parents and focus on the rest of the Council.

The Head Councilman looked up from his tablet, faced Acacia and opened his mouth to speak. When he did so the mood in the entire room immediately became tense. Everyone was waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Acacia Casimir, you stand before this council today accused of high treason," the Councilman wheezed. "How do you plead?"

"Not guilty," said Acacia.

"Evidence has been brought before this council to support the contrary." said the Councilman.

"With all due respect, sir… Can I ask where that information originated?" asked Acacia.

Before the Councilman could answer, Aaran entered the room from a door to the right of the front bench. He did not have to say anything but she was certain that he has the reason she was on trial.

"Good Afternoon," said Aaran. "I trust everything is going according to plan?"

"Like you don't already know." said Acacia, she shot him a look of utter hatred.

"Excuse me?" asked the Head Councilman.

"Permission to speak freely?" asked Acacia the blue tinge of a blush graced her cheeks.

"A bit late… But I'll grant it." said the Head Councilman.

Acacia took a deep breath.

"Nearly eight years ago I stood before you and begged for my engagement to be dissolved. You did not grant my request," she said. "As such I was forced to flee Loreleine.

"You setup my engagement to Aaran because he had no power and you deemed me to have too much. But have you really observed the man now standing before you? If you have, how come I am the one on trial?"

The Council members whispered hushed discussions amongst themselves. Acacia decided to press on.

"Upon my arrival on Earth I enlisted in Starfleet because they allowed me the one thing I had been denied. My freedom," she said. "I had only just been assigned to a Starship when we were summoned here. We have since learned that Aaran tricked us. Is that the kind of man someone should marry?

"He fired a dangerous weapon into space not caring if he killed anyone. He captured me and two members of my crew. He held us in jail where he threatened us with torture unless I was to agree to marry him. And finally, he somehow managed to sabotage the Transporter of our ship so that I could not return to the ship after we had escaped from jail."

Acacia stopped to take another breath, "Does that not make him a worse criminal than me?"

Acacia watched as the Council members continued to discuss what she had said. She looked at her parents. The worried expressions were still on their faces, though now they were accompanied by tear-filled eyes.

Acacia could not tell if they were happy or sad tears.

After a minute of deliberation, the Head Councilman stood up from his chair to deliver the verdict.

"While you did provide excellent evidence to sustain your innocence, we maintain that you are the one on trial here not Mr. Vassily," he said. "We have decided upon your sentence but we will give you an option. You can either complete your marriage or be put to death."

"Since I fear it would happen either way," said Acacia. "I choose death."

"Very well," said the Head Councilman. "Judgment will be carried out tomorrow morning. Until then you will be placed inside a holding cell within this building. You will be watched by a whole team of security guards. Meeting is adjourned."

On that note the twelve Council members stood to leave and Acacia was led through a door to her left.

* * *

Back on the Bridge of the Enterprise, silence reigned. Every person was fixated on the now blank view-screen.

Kirk was standing behind his chair; his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were white. His mind was blank and yet it was racing at the same time.

McCoy took this moment as an opportunity to check Kirk's vitals. He approached Kirk, tricorder in one hand and a medical probe in the other. He was about to place the probe on Kirk's face when the captain turned toward him.

"Bones, if you put that thing on my face I will break it." said Kirk. "Sulu, can you bring back the video-feed?"

"I'm afraid not." said Sulu. "The person who sent us that now appears to be blocking us."

"Can we locate her to beam her out?" asked Kirk.

"No, Captain." said Chekov. "Whoever jammed her signal earlier has since broadened their range. They are now jamming our entire Transporter abilities."

"Then we have no other choices." said Kirk.

He made to walk back through the door but was stopped by Spock.

"Captain? Where are you going?" asked Spock.

"I'm going down the surface," said Kirk. "I have to get her out."

"That would not be the best idea." said Spock.

"Spock, I have to go get her." said Kirk. "She wouldn't even be in danger if I hadn't insisted that she accompany us."

"While that is true… I cannot allow you to return to the planet." said Spock.

"I know that but I feel responsible for this," said Kirk. "I won't be going alone. I'll bring a security team with me. Will that make you feel better?"

Spock didn't answer, instead he stared at the captain with a blank expression; thinking over the question at hand.

"Alright," said Kirk. "You stay here in case we need back-up."

With that said, Kirk pushed past Spock toward the door. He walked down the hall heading to a turbolift and the Shuttle bay.

* * *

**lol Yay for second last chapters! This story is almost done... It might be a while before I get the final chapter started cause I have to think about many different things... Like how I'll open it, what will happen, and how it will all come together at the end...**

**Anyway, I'm very proud of the this story so far even though it's not finished yet... It's so close I can smell it! **


	6. The End?

**Not gonna say much... No Copyright Infringment is ever Intended**

* * *

Kirk arrived in the Shuttle bay almost five minutes after he left the Bridge. He had only stopped to gather a small team of security personnel. As he walked toward a shuttle he was accompanied by six men armed with phasers. They stopped right in front of a shuttle.

Kirk turned to the men and briefed them on the mission.

"So do you understand?" asked Kirk. "This is a rescue mission. Simple as that."

The men nodded; they knew what to do.

"We keep our phasers on stun." said Kirk. "Their's won't be, so be vigilant."

"Aye Captain!" said the six men in unison.

"Right." said Kirk.

He climbed into the shuttle and sat in the Pilot's seat. The security team strapped themselves into the 'rumble' seats in the back of the shuttle. Kirk was about to take off when his communicator sounded. He flipped it open.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Jim, I just want to wish you good luck." said McCoy through the communicator.

"Thanks," said Kirk.

"And you will report to the Med bay as soon as you return." said McCoy. "You'll need a medical exam after all this."

"Bones, why do you do this to me?" asked Kirk.

"I'm a doctor." said McCoy. "It's my job."

"Fine, Kirk out." said Kirk. He closed the communicator.

He flipped some switched on the control panel and the shuttle took off from the floor. He then manoeuvred the shuttle through the Shuttle bay and out the open doors.

* * *

Acacia was pacing the floor of her holding cell. This one was only marginally better than the last one she had been placed in. this one at least had a window.

Needless to say she was not taking this latest incarceration very well. She had tried to keep herself calm by meditating but it had not worked. Under the current circumstances, she just couldn't focus enough energy for it to work. So she had begun pacing the floor instead.

This seemed to help though she was still on the verge of panic.

She had accepted her fate. She was going to die.

Although she had hoped it would not happen so soon. She knew something like this would happen if she returned to Loreleine. She had warned Kirk that her presence would put them in danger but he hadn't really listened.

Of course she had heard of Captain Kirk's reputation for rash thinking but she had hoped it was exaggerated. She was wrong.

Since the incident with Nero and Narada, Kirk had continued to be just as impulsive as he was in the Academy. Repeatedly he would place his ship and the lives of his crew in danger just so he could pull off some kind of daring stunt.

He had learned nothing from these brushes with death and he rarely took the advice that was given to him.

"Well, maybe he will now." Acacia said to herself.

She looked out the window at the surrounding city. The Sun was setting fast in the West; bathing the whole city in a blood red glow. It wouldn't be too long now before her time was up.

If the window and door had not been made of transparent aluminum she might have attempted to escape. But she knew that she wouldn't get too far if she couldn't call the Enterprise for help.

She took a deep breath to help calm herself. She was about to continue her pacing when she heard voices coming from down the hall.

The voices were coming from the far end of the hall. Acacia could tell from the tone that whoever was speaking was quite excited about something. She didn't know what it was because the voices were coming from the end of the hall which she couldn't see.

She edged closer to the door so she could hear the voices better.

"Watch out!"

"Shit! They've seen us."

"Shoot them."

"I'm going in. Cover me!"

Heavy phaser fire followed those words. Acacia could tell they were 'stunners' so whoever was shooting wasn't looking to kill the guards. She watched as all twenty security guards outside her cell dropped like flies.

Suddenly a man appeared outside the cell door. He was wearing a gold Starfleet shirt. She recognized this man.

"Jim!" she said as she rushed to the door.

"Interested in a rescue?" Kirk asked. He flashed a cocky smile as he hacked into the cell's locking mechanism.

When the door slid open she stepped through and grasped Kirk in a hug. It took her a second to realize what she was doing and she let go once she did.

"How did you know I was here?" asked Acacia.

He explained about the video that was broadcast to the ship.

"She scowled, "It was probably Aaran."

"Why would he show us your trial?" asked Kirk.

"To prove he had won," said Acacia. "We should probably go now."

"Right," said Kirk. "Follow me."

He led her back down the hall in the direction he had come. At the end of the hall stood six security personnel clad in their red shirts. Each man held a phaser at the ready in case anyone came to investigate what was going on.

"Did you beam down?" she asked.

"No, our transporter is being blocked." said Kirk as they walked down another hallway.

"So you took a shuttle I'm guessing," said Acacia. "How far away is it?"

"Just outside the city walls." said Kirk.

Acacia raised an eyebrow, "Why so far away?"

"I didn't want to attract too much attention." said Kirk.

As they rounded a corner they were met by a small patrol of security guards. Without any words spoken, Kirk and the security team opened fire on the guards.

"Yeah, it might be a bit late for that." Acacia said as the last security guard fell on top of his colleagues.

"Maybe you're right." Kirk said.

They quickened their pace and it didn't take too long before they reached the main lobby. Oddly enough it was completely empty. Not a soul was present as they ran across it toward the front door.

A tall, burly 'red shirt' by the name of John poked his head out the door.

"All clear." said John.

John held the door open and the rest of the group walked through.

Now that they were out of the capital building, they started to run through the city. Kirk and Acacia led the way along the criss-crossing streets. Since it was so late they didn't meet too many people in the street. However, Acacia still felt it was necessary to hide her face in case one of the people was to recognize her.

"How much further?" asked Acacia, echoing Kirk's question from earlier that day.

"Not much further." said Kirk.

The next second the gate came into view. This was the only way out of the city so they rushed toward it. When they were almost thirty feet from the gate, a large animal appeared and blocked their path.

It was a peculiar creature to say the least. Physically it closely resembled the Mountain Lions of Earth. Though it was different. Its fur was a dark red color and its eyes were black as night. When it saw them, the creature charged toward them.

Kirk and the security team stopped dead in their tracks and raised their weapons intending to shoot at the creature. Acacia did not seem to be worried about the impending danger. Instead, she took a few steps toward the beast and started singing.

She was singing in a language that Kirk could not understand. But oddly enough, it appeared the creature did. It slowed its approach so that it was walking not running. As Kirk watched it, he could have sworn the creature was shrinking.

By the time it had reached Acacia, the creature was the size and shape of a House Cat.

Acacia scooped up the animal and proceeded to scratch it behind the ears. She turned around to find all seven men staring at her with bewildered expressions on their faces.

"What?" she asked.

Kirk gestured toward the cat-like creature nestled in Acacia's arms.

"This?" asked Acacia. "This is Tirza. She is a Vilius, otherwise known as a shape shifter. She was my pet when I was a child."

"A-Are you sure?" asked Kirk. He took a small step back from Acacia.

"Yes," said Acacia. "She can change her size and shape but not her fur coloring. Which was how I recognized her."

Kirk continued to stare at Tirza. The vilius was now purring much like a real house cat.

"She won't hurt you," said Acacia. "She's calmed down."

"Forgive me if I don't feel quite as sure about that as you." said John.

Acacia smiled, "The song I just sang to her was the same song I used to tame her with when I was a child. It is very rare to tame a Vilius. Not many Lorelei are able to do it."

"What was she doing out here?" asked Kirk. "You can't bring her with us."

"She probably ran from my parent's house and somehow she managed to find me." said Acacia. "Why can't I? Am I supposed to leave her here now that I've found her?"

Acacia scowled again, "No Jim… I'm bringing her onto the Enterprise with me. She will be well taken care of. Don't worry."

Kirk was unsure whether he should argue with her or not. He did know they had to hurry back to the shuttle or they would get caught.

"Let's go." he said.

They quickly crossed the remaining distance to the front gate. Kirk hacked into the locking mechanism and within seconds the gate swung open.

Just outside the gate was the shuttle; they ran toward it. Acacia was about to let out a sigh of relief when she heard someone yell.

She looked behind them and saw a couple security guards and Aaran.

Aaran had a murderous expression on his face. He held a gun in his hand, aimed it at her and fired.

"Watch out!" said Acacia but she was too late.

The laser shot caught John in the back and he fell to the ground, dead.

"Get to the shuttle, now!" said Kirk. He grabbed Acacia's hand and the two of them ran together to the shuttle. The proximity scanner opened the door when they got close.

Aran did not shoot as them again even though he had plenty of opportunities. He just watched them enter the shuttle.

As the door closed, Acacia heard him let out a scream of intense rage.

Acacia sat down on a seat; Tirza snuggled into her arms like she knew Acacia was upset.

"This isn't over yet," said Acacia solemnly.

"Let's get out of here." said Kirk.

He pressed some buttons and the shuttle took off from the ground. It headed into the sky toward the Enterprise and the freedom of Space.

* * *

**Just thought I'd let you guys know this is the first story that I've ever actually finished... This is the first one that I "chaptered" and managed to complete**

**What did you think? I'm kinda curious about which parts of the story you liked... Please leave me a review if you feel like it! :)**

**I'm not sure whether this is the end of this story/character... I do have an idea for a sequel and possibly a prequel but that will depend on whether I can find the inspiration...**

**Anyway... Thanks to all my wonderful readers! You guys helped me keep this one going until the end :)**

**Until next time...**


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